Emerging Markets Daily - June 17
Southern Africa Trade, Historic Drought Haunts Brazil, Indonesia's CT Group Eyes IPO, Emirates Airline Ramping Up Operations to Meet Demand, Mexico City Subway Collapse Investigation
The Top 5 Emerging Markets Stories from Global Media - June 17
Is the $259m Kazungula Bridge the Future of Southern African Trade?
African Business
“Traders and transporters along Southern Africa’s North-South Corridor have long been dogged by decrepit infrastructure, border delays and traffic jams, heightening both the cost and time of trade.”
“But the opening in early May of the new $259m Kazungula Bridge linking Botswana and Zambia over the Zambezi River offers renewed hope to those travelling north from Beitbridge on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border.”
“The bridge, whose construction officially started in 2014, is seen as a showpiece example of the sort of cross-border cooperation and regional infrastructure development needed to facilitate intra-African trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).” Tonderayi Mukeredzi reports
Historic Drought Threatens Brazil's Economy
Phys.org
“The worst drought in nearly a century to hit two key regions in Brazil is wreaking havoc on hydroelectric dams and crops—and threatening the nascent pandemic recovery of Latin America's biggest economy.”
“Months of sparse rain have shrunk rivers, left their banks cracked and parched, and reduced normally sprawling reservoirs to webs of puddles across Brazil's southeast and central-west.”
“The dry spell in this large, economically crucial swathe of the country is hurting two important sectors: hydroelectric power, which Brazil depends on for nearly two-thirds of its electricity capacity, and agriculture, which has been driving its recovery from the economic rout brought by Covid-19 last year.”
“And there is no sign rain is coming: the southern hemisphere winter is typically dry in both regions.” Morgann Jezequel reports
Indonesian Conglomerate CT Corp Embarks on Journey Toward IPO
Nikkei Asia
“The founder of CT Corp, one of Indonesia's largest conglomerates, aims to modernize and list the massive, 34-year-old entity -- and is banking on Japanese expertise to make it happen.”
“Giving up their closely held status is a rarity among large, family-run Indonesian business groups. But Chairul Tanjung, who is also CT's chairman, told Nikkei Asia that getting it ready for an IPO and going public will ‘institutionalize’ the business and ensure its continuity beyond his own tenure.”
“…Some of Indonesia's large family-owned conglomerates began operations even before the country's independence in 1945. They typically have a complex ownership system, which allows founding families to maintain group control, a phenomenon also seen in South Korea and other parts of Asia.” Shotaro Tani reports
Emirates On Track to Operate 90% of Pre-Pandemic Network by July
The National
“Emirates aims to fly to 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic network by the end of July, operating 880 weekly services across 124 cities as countries reopen borders and ease travel restrictions on the back of vaccination programs.”
“The airline will resume services to a number of cities in July including Venice, Phuket, Nice, Orlando, Mexico City, Lyon and Malta, according to a statement from Emirates on Thursday. It will also launch flights to Florida's second-biggest city, Miami, starting on July 22.”
“‘We are encouraged by the latest developments as many countries have begun to turn the page and reopen for international visitors, and we are seeing strong signs of pent-up demand wherever restrictions have eased,’ Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, Emirates chairman and chief executive, said. ‘Emirates is nimbly matching up flight services and identifying opportunities to grow our footprint, and provide customers more opportunities to safely get where they want to go this summer.’”
“The Covid-19 pandemic sparked the worst crisis in the history of the global aviation industry. The outbreak brought air travel to a near-standstill last year, forcing most airlines to cut jobs, ground their fleets and seek government assistance to stay afloat.”
“The International Air Transport Association (Iata) expects the outlook for global airlines to brighten in the second half of the year. Total air passenger numbers in 2021 will be 52 per cent lower than they were in 2019, before bouncing back to 88 per cent of their pre-crisis levels in 2022 and exceed pre-pandemic levels (105 per cent) by 2023.”
Construction Deficiencies Behind Deadly Mexico City Subway Collapse
CNN
“Construction flaws led to the collapse of a Mexico City subway line that killed 26 people and left dozens injured last month, according to the preliminary findings of an independent probe released by the city government on Wednesday.”
“…Mexico City's subway system is one of the busiest in the world. Line 12, also known as the ‘Golden Line,’ spans 25.1 kilometers (15.6 miles) and features 20 stations. It was touted as one of the most expensive and ambitious public works projects in Mexican history when it was inaugurated in October 2012.”
“But, in the years since, it has become a symbol of Mexico's social ills and challenges from corruption to impunity, inequality to negligence.”
“The Golden Line was supposed to connect historically marginalized neighborhoods with more prosperous areas of the Mexican metropolis and give people equal access to jobs, cultural centers and some of the best things Mexico City has to offer in an affordable way.” Rafael Romo, Natalie Gallón and Karol Suarez report
